A Celebration Christmas

“Works for me. I’ll walk you to your meeting and you can start catching me up on everything that’s been happening since we last spoke.”

That wasn’t happening now. There was too much to say to open that line of conversation before his meeting. Despite being a pediatrician, Brenda had never wanted kids of her own. That was one of the reasons their relationship had worked. Or was supposed to have worked. They were both career-focused. Medicine came first. Personal relationships followed at a close second. He thought about Lily and the kids. There was no way Brenda would understand why he’d taken in the Thomas kids. Because that meant living a kid-friendly life. It meant making yourself vulnerable and available. Like when he’d promised Lily he’d pick up George from camp—

Oh, hell. Oh, no—

“What time is it?” he asked as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

Crap. It was nearly five o’clock. He was supposed to have picked up George from basketball camp at four. That was when he saw that he had three missed calls from a number he didn’t recognize on his phone, which had been on silent mode since he’d been working in the emergency room all morning.

“I have to go,” he said, walking away from Brenda before he could explain.

“Where are you going? I thought you had a meeting.”

“I do,” he called over his shoulder. “But I have to take care of something important first. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

As he sprinted toward the parking lot, he pulled his cell out of his pocket and redialed the number that had called. He didn’t waste time retrieving the messages. He knew what they’d say. Now he just needed to get ahold of someone who would let George know he was on his way.

“Celebration Community Center. This is April.”

“Hi, April. This is Cullen Dunlevy. I’m calling about George Thomas. He’s part of the holiday basketball camp. I goofed. I was supposed to pick him up at four, but I got tied up at work. I’m five minutes away. I’ll be right there.”

“No worries, Dr. Dunlevy. Lily Palmer just picked him up. He’s safe and sound.”

Cullen stopped running.

Damn.

Actually it was good that Lily had George. The poor kid must’ve been worried that they’d forgotten him or that something had happened. Cullen hated the thought of putting George through anything more than he’d already suffered in his young life.

“Was he…okay?”

There was a pause on the line.

“Well, honestly, he was a little upset, but he was fine once Lily arrived.”

An expletive formed at the back of his throat, but he managed to swallow it.

“Thanks, April. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

After he hung up, he stood in the parking lot debating what to do. He should go back inside. He’d be a few minutes late for the board meeting, but he wouldn’t have missed anything.

Still, he couldn’t make his feet move.

Instead, he dialed his assistant, Tracy. “Please give the board my apologies. I’ve had a family emergency and have to leave the hospital. I’ll be back as soon as I can, but they should start the meeting without me.”

* * *

Lily’s previous irritation at Cullen for not picking up George—for not calling or returning her call—pretty much faded the minute she saw his face. He looked so guilty as he speed-walked toward the Celebrations, Inc. booth at the holiday market.

“Where’s George?” he asked. “April at the community center said you picked him up. Where is he?”

Cullen looked panicked as his gaze swept the market.

“Relax,” Lily said. “He and the girls are walking around and getting something to eat. He’s pretty hungry.”

She couldn’t hide her annoyance.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I forgot.”

“What do you mean you forgot?” Instantly she regretted her tone.

Cullen shrugged, turning his palms up as if surrendering. “I forgot. There was a bad accident on Highway 43 and they took a lot of the injured to my E.R. Then it was just one thing after another. And the next thing I knew, it was almost five o’clock. I forgot to go get him.”